The protest followed a Saturday night incident in which vendors Lovence Tusasirwe and Evelyn Atuhaire were reportedly trapped inside after responding to the market's closing whistle.

Police in Mbarara City have thwarted a protest by vendors at Mbarara Central Market, who accused security personnel of mistreatment after two traders were allegedly locked inside the market overnight.

The protest followed a Saturday night incident in which vendors Lovence Tusasirwe and Evelyn Tusasirwe were reportedly trapped inside after responding to the market's closing whistle.

"We tried calling the security personnel to open for us, but he said we should sleep in the market," Evelyn recounted, adding that their pleas were ignored until morning.

Mbarara City South Division Commercial Officer Dickson Asiimwe acknowledged the complaints and promised a resolution.

"We have tried to resolve the issue, promising the vendors a meeting on Monday to solve these issues," he said.

However, market vendors' chairperson Emmanuel Muhumuza dismissed the incident as politically motivated, accusing opponents of stirring unrest.

"Traders know that we open at 7am and close at 10pm, market security officials remind them at 9:30pm with a closing whistle, yet some choose to stay until the last minute. We shall not accept politics in business," he asserted.

The lock-in controversy has fueled frustrations among traders, some arguing that such restrictions contribute to domestic conflicts when delayed vendors struggle to explain their absence to their families.

"They complain that the chairman is locking people in the market and causing domestic violence, but honestly, what are these people still doing there past 10pm?" Muhumuza remarked.